This diner had a simple beginning

Virginia E. Lopez

You never know what your going to find when your running on the

beach.

Back in 1980, Doug Cavanaugh found an idea.

He had noticed a building, a one-time bait shop that was unused

and in bad shape, sitting at the end of the Balboa Pier. While

brainstorming business ideas with his dad one night, he remembered

the building and wondered if it just might be the answer.

He realized that the overall look of the building had a 1940s

feel. He believed if he could bring it to life and turn it into a

diner, he could recreate a part of that era that was also considered

the hey day of the area.

Cavanaugh knew he could not do it by himself. So he gathered

together a few friends from his school days, told them his idea and

asked for their help. They all thought he was crazy, except for Ralph

Kosmides.

Kosmides had attended junior high with Cavanaugh and became just

as excited about the diner idea as Cavanaugh.

They put together a plan, went to the city of Newport Beach and

received a long-term lease on the building.

Recreating a 1940s diner required long hours of research, but for

Cavanaugh and Kosmides it paid off in finding the right theme and

artifacts needed to make the diner authentic and a reality.

They did most of the remodeling themselves and one year later and

$80,000 lighter, they opened Ruby’s Diner on Dec. 10, 1982.

The menu was simple: hamburgers, hot dogs and malts. The crew was

small, consisting of only three employees. The diner was tiny at only

45 seats and the name hit close to home, named after Cavanaugh’s

mother, much to her surprise.

After all this hard work, would the idea take off? Opening day

brought in a whole $63 and it was only a matter of time before

Cavanaugh and Kosmides knew they had something special.

The popularity of the diner continued to grow, as did the long

lines outside, and they projected that Ruby’s would pull in $125,000

in that first year. They were wrong, Ruby’s hit $600,000 and by the

second year they surpassed $1 million.

Ruby’s continued to be a growing landmark throughout Southern

California, sparking stores in Mission Viejo, Seal Beach, South Coast

Plaza’s Crystal Court and Fullerton.

In the 1990s they added more diners, including some in

Pennsylvania, Nevada, New Jersey and Missouri.

The menu remained the same, but the diners, though overall

familiar, added local creative themes to go with the community it was

in.

From the “Surf City” theme at the Huntington Beach Pier to the

miniature World War II aircraft that “fly” through the Laguna Hills

diner, Cavanaugh and Kosmides continue to pay homage to the era of

the 1940s.

* LOOKING BACK runs Sundays. Do you know of a person, place or

event that deserves a historical Look Back? Let us know. Contact us

by fax at (949) 646-4170; e-mail at [email protected]; or mail

her at c/o Daily Pilot, 330 W. Bay St., Costa Mesa, CA 92627.